Sachin Pilot, 37, was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi to lead the Congress party in Rajasthan after the party&’s rout in the Lok Sabha elections last year. A former Union minister, Sachin is widely considered to be one of the brightest and most promising young Congress leaders. In the wake of the raging Lalitgate scandal that has also got the Rajasthan chief minister Mrs Vasundhra Raje embroiled in it, Mr Pilot&’s already packed schedule has become more hectic as he divides his time between Delhi and Rajasthan. A leader on the move, Sachin spoke to R C Rajamani at his Delhi residence on topics ranging from the state of the country’s polity to Lalitgate, to his plans to revive the Congress in his state. Excerpts: 

Polity is, in one word, disturbed. The government, perhaps in the belief that parliamentary majority is a license for non-consensual and one-sided decision-making, has tied itself up in knots. Bypassing the Opposition in particular and differing opinions in general have led to anti-farmer legislation while neglecting more pressing issues, leading to persisting infrastructural bottlenecks, lax follow-up of ambitious programmes like Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and river-purification projects as well as more polarised views on what it means to live in a secular India and how the Government intends to deal with sleaze and cosy-arrangements between its leading lights and people suspected to be trying to flee Indian laws. 

What is the Congress strategy to make the Rajasthan CM Vasundhura Raje resign over the Lalit Modi controversy? 

Our position is clear. The Rajasthan CM has supported the immigration efforts of an individual to evade investigation by Indian law enforcement agencies by seeking travel documents in another country. Her affidavit was tendered while she was an MLA and Leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan, both public offices. This was and is at cross purposes with what the Government was trying to achieve, namely, to hold a person accused of very serious crimes under various Indian laws to account, and indeed what the NDA government claims it is trying to achieve. Dealings of companies owned by her close family members with the companies owned by the same individual were a clear conflict of interest, something not disclosed to the ethics committee of the legislature, not disclosed in legally mandated returns in the run-up to the last elections, and even otherwise is not an arm&’s length transaction. The CM must resign, and if she does not act voluntarily, the Central Government must act so that people don’t see its brazen inaction as abuse of public mandate. 

Will you take the battle to the Rajasthan assembly to force Mrs Raje to resign? 

The state assembly is due to meet shortly. The party will raise the issue there and on the streets of Rajasthan. However, this is not an issue confined to Rajasthan. This is part of a larger piece, of upholding the law of the land in public while subverting it in private. The battle will also involve Parliament, for that is where we have to fight for everything that weakens India&’s fabric as a law-abiding country, where illegal and morally questionable actions by people in power have legal, moral, and electoral consequences. We will let the Government know that the people are watching. We have nothing personal against Rajasthan CM, but she has come to symbolise brazen complicity with people on wrong side of the law for indefensible quid pro quo arrangements. Her continuance in office is an affront to our values as a nation. 

It is now however evident that Mrs Raje is not going to resign. So, what’ll you and your party do now? 

As I said before, after all the revelations related to Rajasthan CM in this matter, she has lost the moral right to govern. When her supporters ask for chapter and verse on the law violated, they confuse impropriety with illegality. When cited chapter and verse, they simply tune out. This refusal to meet the facts head-on will not succeed. We will continue our protests in the state and nationally, both in the state assembly and in Parliament in an appropriate manner as decided by our leadership and based on responses, if any, of the government. 

Don’t you think it might suit your party politically in the long run if Mrs Raje does not step down now? You’ll continue to have an issue for a long time, which might help your battered and marginalised party? 

Mrs Raje is not the issue; the issue is whether someone – anyone – faced with the same charges should hold or continue in public office. The issue also is that people at large should see the broadly accepted moral and legal mores prevail. ….Once no action follows, it will set the bar for holding public office so low that people would be incentivised to abuse their position, and no one would ever have to resign. To link the entire episode with political mileage is unfair, for it has implications for how our nation would be governed, and what passes for right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable, in public life and governance. 

Why are Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, in your view,  refraining from taking action in the Lalitgate scandal? 

Their situation is unenviable. One of their loudest and most frequent promises was that no corruption would flourish under their dual leadership. If they don’t act, the canard is exposed, and they lose the moral high ground they presently claim for all times to come. If they do, they accept the sleaze in their senior ranks, calling into question their own leadership. However, with every passing day, they run an additional risk, that of being seen as people who have the majority and the power, but not the will to act. And also, of acting too late. Decisive action would have redeemed them. Unfortunately, that has not happened. 

Congress leaders are also alleged to have been involved in Lalitgate in various ways. What should be done about them? 

If there are people in any party who have helped offenders evade the law of the land, they should all be dealt with similarly, regardless of which party they belong to. The action, as is fair, should reflect the evidence of degree of involvement, favours exchanged, and clarity of evidence. 

What is your assessment of the Modi government’s performance in its first year? 

This government started out by drawing out a long list of areas in which it said it would make history. The same list is now one of areas of non-performance. Foreign jaunts are not foreign policy… they just seem to reflect a desire to make up for lost journey time and for political grandstanding. The government has centralised decision-making and reduced the Cabinet to a rubber-stamp, damaging the core institution of parliamentary democracy. Institutions have weakened, legislation has been introduced hastily through Ordinances and sought to be passed in Parliament without building consensus, the marketing sheen of popular sloganeering and marketing rhetoric has worn off. Situation on the ground is worse, and in a way, government concedes the point by changing its accounting methods to show a higher GDP growth.